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Spaghetti with Browned Butter and Mizithra Cheese

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A delicious copycat recipe of Spaghetti Factory’s Spaghetti with Browned Butter and Mizithra Cheese! An easy dinner recipe that is ready in under 30 minutes. 

A bowl of spaghetti topped with browned butter and Mizithra cheese.

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Below you will find tips, tricks and helpful hints for making this recipe including step by step instructions with pictures. If you would like to go directly to the recipe, scroll down to the recipe card or tap “Jump to Recipe” at the top of the page.

Why I Love This Recipe

Have you ever eaten at The Old Spaghetti Factory? It is one of my family’s favorite restaurants and is often where we have our extended family get-togethers.

Their menu has classic Italian dishes and their specialty, of course, is spaghetti. In fact, their most popular dish is Spaghetti with Browned Butter and Mizithra Cheese.

With this recipe, you can recreate their delicious dish right at home. It is just like the original! If you like copycat recipes, make sure to try Cheesecake Factory’s Louisiana Chicken Pasta!

A bowl of browned butter spaghetti with Mizithra cheese and a fork.

Spaghetti with Browned Butter and Mizithra Cheese Recipe

Before we dive right into this super easy and quick dinner recipe, we need to talk about a couple of the ingredients.

A fork in a bowl of browned butter spaghetti with Mizithra cheese.

What is Mizithra Cheese?

Mizithra or myzithra is a cheese made with the milk and whey from either sheep or goats, or both.

It is a little salty in this dish, so I would use unsalted butter and taste the spaghetti before adding any salt.

A tub of Mizithra cheese.

Where can You Buy Mizithra Cheese?

I found this cheese in the specialty cheese area at my grocery store. In fact, the container I bought is actually made by The Old Spaghetti Factory!

You can also find Mizithra cheese at many Sprouts locations as well as Trader Joe’s. There is also an option to order a pound of Mizithra cheese here from Amazon.

What is a Good Substitute for Mizithra Cheese?

If you are unable to find Mizithra cheese near you, a good substitute is Romano cheese.

A tup of Mizithra cheese.

The Old Spaghetti Factory actually uses a blend of Romano and Mizithra at their restaurant.

If neither of those cheeses is an option for you, don’t miss out on this dish. Just use some shredded Parmesan cheese. It’s delicious too!

How to Brown Butter

Browning butter is a great way to enhance the flavor of many recipes and is probably the key ingredient of this Spaghetti with Browned Butter and Mizithra Cheese recipe.

A bowl of browned butter being poured over a bowl of spaghetti.

It’s actually quite easy to do, you just need to keep an eye on it so that it doesn’t burn.

  • Add the butter to a pan. Use a light colored pan, if possible, to help you keep an eye on the color of the butter.
A stick of salted butter.
  • Begin melting the butter over medium heat, swirling or stirring to help it cook evenly.
A stick of butter melting in a pan.
  • The butter will begin to foam as you heat it.
Butter melting in a pan.
  • Continue to brown the butter until it is a carmel-brown color.
A spoon stirring a pan of boiling butter.
  • Remove it from the heat and transfer it to a bowl to cool.
  • Use a mesh strainer to separate the milk solids from the browned butter.
A strainer over a bowl of browned butter.

Ingredients:

*Ingredient amounts are located in the recipe card at the end of this post.

  • Box of Spaghetti
  • Butter
  • Mizithra Cheese

Helpful Kitchen Tools:

How to Make Browned Butter and Mizithra Cheese Spaghetti

Spaghetti noodles in a pan of boiling water.
  • Follow the directions on the box to  prepare your spaghetti noodles to your liking.
  • While the pasta is cooking, begin to brown the butter in a saucepan
A stick of salted butter.
  • Melt the butter over medium heat. Stir occasionally until the butter is a rich, caramel color.
A pan of boiling butter,
  • Strain the butter through a mesh strainer to remove the milk solids and allow the butter to cool in a bowl.
A strainer over a bowl of browned butter.
  • Drain the spaghetti noodles in a colander to remove the water.
  • Add the spaghetti to a large serving bowl, sprinkle 3/4 of the cheese and 3/4 of the butter over the top.
A bowl of browned butter being poured over a bowl of spaghetti.
A bowl of Mizithra cheese being poured over a bowl of spaghetti
  • Top the noodles with the remainder of the cheese and butter.
  • Serve!
A fork full of pasta over a  bowl of spaghetti topped with browned butter sauce and Mizithra cheese.

Browned Butter and Mizithra Cheese Spaghetti Variations

There are a couple of delicious variations to this recipe that are served at The Old Spaghetti Factory.

The Manager’s Favorite

This version is actually the one I order every single time. In this version, the Spaghetti with Browned Butter and Mizithra cheese is also topped with marinara sauce or meat sauce.

To prepare this version, just top your spaghetti with your favorite sauce as well.

Pin for later:

Text “the old spaghetti factory Mizithra Cheese & Browned Butter Copycat Recipe” over a picture of a fork holding spaghetti.

Browned Butter and Mizithra Broccoli

This version is absolutely delicious as well! To make, prepare the butter sauce as mentioned above.

Prepare one pound of broccoli florets your favorite way. Toss the cooked broccoli with the butter sauce and Mizithra cheese.

Dessert Ideas:

Watch the video here:

Spaghetti with Browned Butter & Mizithra Cheese
A bowl of spaghetti topped with browned butter and Mizithra cheese.

Spaghetti with Browned Butter and Mizithra Cheese

Yield: 6 Servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

A delicious copycat recipe of Spaghetti Factory’s Spagetti with Browned Butter and Mizithra Cheese! Ready in under 30 minutes, it’s a great dish for a quick and easy weeknight dinner.

Ingredients

  • 1 (12 ounce) Box of Spaghetti Noodles
  • 1 Cup Butter
  • 3/4 Pound Mizithra Cheese

Instructions

  1. Boil water in a large stock pot.
  2. Follow the directions on the box to prepare your spaghetti noodles to your liking.
  3. While the pasta is cooking, begin to brown the butter in a saucepan.
  4. Melt the butter over medium heat. Stir occasionally until the butter is a rich, caramel color.
  5. Strain the butter through a mesh strainer to remove the milk solids and allow the butter to cool in a bowl.
  6. Drain the spaghetti noodles in a colander to remove the water.
  7. Add the spaghetti to a large serving bowl, sprinkle 3/4 of the cheese and 3/4 of the butter over the top.
  8. Toss the spaghetti to coat with the butter sauce.
  9. Top the noodles with the remainder of the cheese and butter.
  10. Serve!

Notes

Shredded Romano or Parmesan cheese can be substituted for Mizithra cheese.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1 Cup
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 535Total Fat: 50gSaturated Fat: 30gTrans Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 137mgSodium: 615mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 15g

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Lynn

Friday 28th of May 2021

I just found it at Albertson’s also. It is ungrated, but I was so happy to find it!

Douglas Maida

Thursday 4th of June 2020

Mizithra cheese from The Old Spaghetti Factory is not at nor will be sold at any Trader Joe’s as was stated.

PJ

Tuesday 27th of April 2021

It is available at Sprouts.

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